The present invention relates to an absorbent pad, and particularly to one for use in absorbing secretions from a person's body. The invention is particularly useful in tampons, namely plugs of absorbent material insertable into body cavities to absorb secretions, particularly vaginal discharge, and is therefore described below with respect to this application.
Vaginal discharge caused by secretions from the cervix and vagina may occur throughout the menstrual cycle. Such discharge may result from both non-infectious causes and infectious causes. The non-infectious causes include physiological causes, such as puberty, menstrual cycle, sexual activity, pregnancy and menopause, as well as non-physiological causes such as the presence of a foreign body, chemical, drug, and gynecologic abnormalities. The infectious causes producing vaginal secretions include Candida albicans, Trichimonas vaginalis, and Bacterial vaginosis; and those producing cervical secretions include Neisserria gonorrhea, Chlamydia tracomatis and Herpes simplex virus. Effective treatment requires identification of the cause of the secretion, particularly if the cause is an infectious one.
At the present time, diagnosis of the cause of a vaginal or cervical secretion is usually made at the physician's office or in a laboratory by examining smears of the discharge. One of such examinations made is to measure the pH, i.e., the acidity or alkalidity, of the secretion since it has been determined that at least some of the infectious causes are characterized by a change in the pH of the secretion. For further information, reference is made to the publication "Vaginal Discharge: An Approach to Diagnosis and Management", by William J. Watson and Gregory DeMarchi, Can. Fam. Physician, Vol. 33 August 1987, Pages 1847-1855.